The present invention is in the field of telephony communication and pertains more particularly to methods and apparatus for seamless interfacing and integration of telephony on different networks.
In the field of telephony communication, there have been many in technology over the years that have contributed to more efficient use of telephone communication within hosted call-center environments. Most of these improvements involve integrating the telephones and switching systems in such call centers with computer hardware and software adapted for, among other things, better routing of telephone calls, faster delivery of telephone calls and associated information, and improved service with regards to client satisfaction. Such computer-enhanced telephony is known in the art as computer-telephony integration (CTI).
Generally speaking, CTI implementations of various design and purpose are implemented both within individual call-centers and, in some cases, at the telephone network level. For example, processors running CTI software applications may be linked to telephone switches, service control points (SCP), and network entry points within a public or private telephone network. At the call-center level, CTI-enhanced processors, data servers, transaction servers, and the like, are linked to telephone switches and, in some cases, to similar CTI hardware at the network level, often by a dedicated digital link. CTI and other hardware within a call-center is commonly referred to as customer premises equipment (CPE). It is the CTI processor and application software is such centers that provides computer enhancement to a call center.
In a CTI-enhanced call center, telephones at agent stations are connected to a central telephony switching apparatus, such as an automatic call distributor (ACD) switch or a private branch exchange (PBX). The agent stations may also be equipped with computer terminals such as personal computer/video display unit""s (PC/VDU""s) so that agents manning such stations may have access to stored data as well as being linked to incoming callers by telephone equipment. Such stations may be interconnected through the PC/VDUs by a local area network (LAN). One or more data or transaction servers may also be connected to the LAN that interconnects agent stations. The LAN is, in turn, connected to the CTI processor, which is connected to the call switching apparatus of the call center.
When a call arrives at a call center, whether or not the call has been pre-processed at an SCP, typically at least the telephone number of the calling line is made available to the receiving switch at the call center by the network provider. This service is available by most networks as caller-ID information in one of several formats such as Automatic Number Identification (ANI). If the call center is computer-enhanced (CTI) the phone number of the calling party may be used to access additional information from a customer information system (CIS) database at a server on the network that connects the agent workstations. In this manner information pertinent to a call may be provided to an agent, often as a screen pop.
Proprietorship of CTI equipment both at individual call-centers and within a telephone network can vary widely. For example, a phone company may provide and lease CTI equipment to a service organization hosting a number of call-centers. A telecommunications company may provide and lease CTI equipment and capability to an organization hosting call centers. In many cases, a service organization (call center host) may obtain and implement it""s own CTI capability and so on.
In recent years, advances in computer technology, telephony equipment, and infrastructure have provided many opportunities for improving telephone service in publicly-switched and private telephone intelligent networks. Similarly, development of a separate information and data network known as the Internet, together with advances in computer hardware and software have led to a new multi-media telephone system known in the art by several names. In this new systemology, telephone calls are simulated by multi-media computer equipment, and data, such as audio data, is transmitted over data networks as data packets. In this application the broad term used to describe such computer-simulated telephony is Data-Network Telephony (DTN).
For purposes of nomenclature and definition, the inventors wish to distinguish clearly between what might be called conventional telephony, which is the telephone service enjoyed by nearly all citizens through local telephone companies and several long-distance telephone network providers, and what has been described herein as computer-simulated telephony or data-network telephony. The conventional system is familiar to nearly all, and is often referred to in the art as Plain Old Telephony Service (POTS). This designation is more strictly applied in the language of the art, however, to analog-only systems, and might be confusing to many if used in the context of this specification. The computer-simulated, or DNT systems are familiar to those who use and understand computer systems. Perhaps the best example of DNT is telephone service provided over the Internet, which will be referred to herein as Internet Protocol Network Telephony (IPNT), by far the most extensive, but still a subset of DNT.
Both systems use signals transmitted over network links. In fact, connection to data networks for DNT such as IPNT is typically accomplished over local telephone lines, used to reach such as an Internet Service Provider (ISP). The definitive difference is that the older, more conventional telephony may be considered to be connection-oriented, switched telephony. In these systems, calls are placed and connected (switched) to occupy a specific, dedicated path, and the connection path is maintained over the time of the call. Bandwidth is thus assured. Other calls and data do not share a connected channel path in such a dedicated connection system, except in the instance of conferenced calls, wherein the conferenced calls are still dedicated to the established path. In a typical DNT system, on the other hand, the system is not dedicated connection oriented. That is, data, including audio data, is prepared, sent, and received as data packets. The data packets share network links, and may travel by varied and variable paths. There is thus no generally dedicated bandwidth, unless special systems, such as RSVP systems known in the art, are used for guaranteeing bandwidth during a call. For these reasons, the dedicated-connection, switched systems (non-DNT) are referred to in this specification as COST systems, meaning Connection Oriented/Switched Telephony.
Under ideal operating circumstances a DNT network, such as the Internet, has all of the audio quality of conventional public and private COST networks, and many advantages accruing from the aspect of direct computer-to-computer linking. DNT systems are also typically implemented with equipment less extensive and expensive than those necessary for COST systems. However, DNT calls must share the bandwidth available on the network in which they are traveling. As a result, real-time voice communication may at times suffer dropout and delay. This is at least partially due to packet loss experienced during periods of less than needed bandwidth which may prevail under certain conditions such as congestion during peak periods of use, and so on.
Recent improvements to available technologies associated with the transmission and reception of data packets during real-time DNT communication have made it possible to successfully add DNT, principally IPNT capabilities to existing CTI call centers. Such improvements, as described herein and known to the inventor, include methods for guaranteeing and verifying available bandwidth or quality of service (QoS) for a transaction, improved mechanisms for organizing, coding, compressing, and carrying data more efficiently using less bandwidth, and methods and apparatus for intelligently replacing lost data via using voice supplementation methods and enhanced buffering capabilities.
In typical call centers, DNT is accomplished by Internet connection and IPNT calls. For this reason, IPNT and the Internet will be used almost exclusively in examples to follow. It should be understood, however, that this usage is exemplary, and not limiting.
In systems known to the inventors, incoming IPNT calls are processed and routed within an IPNT-capable call-center in much the same way as COST calls are routed in a CTI-enhanced center, using similar or identical routing rules, waiting queues, and so on, aside from the fact that there are two separate networks involved. Call centers having both CTI and IPNT capability utilize LAN-connected agent-stations with each station having a telephony-switch-connected headset or phone, and a PC connected, in most cases via LAN, to the network carrying the IPNT calls. Therefore, in most cases, IPNT calls are routed to the agent""s PC while conventional telephony calls are routed to the agent""s conventional telephone or headset. Typically separate lines and equipment must be implemented for each type of call weather COST or IPNT.
Due in part to added costs associated with additional equipment, lines, and data ports that are needed to add IPNT capability to a CTI-enhanced call-center, companies are currently experimenting with various forms of integration between the older COST system and the newer IPNT system. For example, by enhancing data servers, interactive voice response units (IVR""s), agent-connecting networks, and so on, with the capability of understanding Internet protocol, data arriving from either network may be integrated requiring less equipment and lines to facilitate processing, storage, and transfer of data. However, telephony trunks and IPNT network lines representing the separate networks involved still provide for significant costs and maintenance.
In some current art implementations, incoming data from the COST network and the Internet is caused to run side by side from the network level to a call center over a telephone connection (T1/E1) acting as a telephone-data bridge, wherein a certain channels are reserved for COST connection, and this portion is dedicated as is necessary in COST protocol (connection oriented), and the remainder is used for DNT such as IPNT calls, and for perhaps other data transmission. Such a service is described in more detail below as prior art, and is generally offered by a local phone company. This service eliminates the requirement for leasing numerous telephony trunks and data-network connections. Routing and other equipment, however, must be implemented at both the call-center level and network level significantly reducing any realized cost savings.
A significant disadvantage of such a bridge, having dedicated equipment on each end, is the dedicated nature of individual channels over the bridging link. Efficient use of bandwidth cannot be assured during variable traffic conditions that may prevail at certain times. For example, dedicated channels assigned to IPNT traffic would not be utilized if there were not enough traffic to facilitate their use. Similarly, if there was more COST traffic than the allotted number of COST channels could carry, no additional channels could be made available.
In a yet more advanced system, also described in more detail below as prior art, and known in some call centers, a central switch within the call center is enhanced with IP conversion capability and can communicate via LAN to connected IP phone-sets and PC""s eliminating the need for regular telephone wiring within a call center. However, the service is still delivered via a telephone-data bridge as described above. Therefore, additional requirements for equipment and inefficiency regarding use of bandwidth are still factors.
What is clearly needed is a method and apparatus whereby COST calls may be seamlessly converted to DNT, such as IPNT calls at the network level and routed to a call center as IPNT calls. Also other types of DNT calls maybe similarly converted into IPNT calls. Such a method and apparatus would eliminate the need for conventional telephone-switching equipment and routers as well as multiple types of networks and 1 wiring sets in a call center, and allow full-service call centers to be implemented and operated wholly without COST equipment, and at a significant cost reduction both for equipment and operation.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention a telephony system is provided, comprising a telephone apparatus at a first location having a Data Network Telephony (DNT) interface with a port adapted to connect to a data network capable of transmitting DNT telephony calls; and a computerized telephony bridge remote from the first location. The computerized bridge includes a trunk-line port and associated circuitry for receiving and placing Connection-Oriented/Switched Telephony (COST) telephone calls on a COST network; a data network port and associated circuitry for receiving and placing Data Network Telephony (DNT) calls on the data network; conversion circuitry for converting data dynamically between DNT and COST telephone calls; and control routines adapted to receive a first call from one of the COST and DNT networks, to place a call associated with the received call on the network other than the network on which the call is received, and to dynamically convert data between the associated calls. The computerized telephony bridge is connected to the DNT interface at least one agent station at the first host location by the data network capable of transmitting DNT telephony calls.
In some embodiments the data network is the Internet, and the DNT calls are Internet Protocol Network Telephony (IPNT) calls. In other embodiments the DNT network may be of another sort, such as a company inranet.
In some embodiments the DNT interface is a DNT-telephony-capable telephone. In others the interface may be a multi-media personal computer (PC).
In various embodiments the bridge further comprises a digitally-stored look-up table relating COST telephone numbers to IP addresses. In these embodiments the control routines are adapted to retrieve specific data from an incoming call, either COST or DNT, and to use the retrieved data to access the look-up table to determine an associated COST telephone number or IP address, and to use the associated COST telephone number or IP address to place a call associated with the incoming call. The specific data from the incoming call may be coded in a portion of an IP address associated with the incoming call. Alternatively, the code routines are adapted to receive a DNT call from a caller at one of the agent stations, and to negotiate with the caller to ascertain a COST telephone number to use to place a COST call associated with the incoming DNT call. Negotiation can be by an IVR unit.
A major use of such systems is in conjunction with call centers. In these systems the telephone apparatus is located at a call center host location having multiple agent stations, individual ones of the agent stations equipped with one or more of the telephony apparatus. There may be two or more agent stations and further a computerized DNT router at the first host location, the router connected to the data telephony network and the one or more DNT interfaces at the agent stations connected to the router, wherein the router is adapted to receive DNT calls from the computerized telephony bridge and to route the calls to individual agent stations based on pre-stored routing rules. In this example, the look-up table associates a COST telephone number with an IP address of the router, enabling callers on a COST network to access the DNT call center with a COST telephone number, which may be a no-charge-to-calling-party number. Also there may be additional host locations, each having two or more agent stations, a computerized DNT router at each agent station connected to the DNT network and to the DNT interfaces at the agent stations, wherein each router has a separate IP address and each router is adapted to receive DNT calls from the computerized telephony bridge and to route the calls to individual agent stations at the agent stations connected to the router at each host location based on pre-stored routing rules, which may be different at different host locations.
In another aspect a method for practicing the invention is provided, comprising steps of (a) forming a call center of one or more agent stations at a first host location, each agent station having a Data Network Telephony (DNT) interface having a port adapted to connect to a data network capable of transmitting DNT telephony calls, and each DNT interface having an IP address; (b) connecting a data network telephony (DNT) network to the DNT interface at the one or more agent stations; (c) connecting, remote from the first host location, a computerized bridge unit to the DNT network by a data network port and associated circuitry for receiving and placing Data Network Telephony (DNT) calls on the data network, the bridge unit having a trunk-line port and associated circuitry for receiving and placing Connection Oriented/Switched Telephony (COST) telephone calls on a COST network, conversion circuitry for converting data dynamically between DNT and COST telephone calls, and control routines adapted to receive a first call from one of the COST and DNT networks, to place a call associated with the received call on the network other than the network on which the call is received, and to dynamically convert data between the associated calls; (d) receiving a COST call at the bridge unit placed by a caller on the POTS network using a COST number; (e) associating the COST call with the IP address of the DNT interface at one of the one or more agent stations at the first host location; (f) placing a DNT call to the IP address; and (g) dynamically converting data at the bridge between the COST call and the associated DNT call, thereby effectively connecting the COST caller with an agent at the agent station.
In another aspect a method is provided for implementing a data network telephony (DNT) call center having ability for agents at the call center to place calls to COST network telephones, comprising steps of (a) forming a call center of one or more agent stations at a first host location, each agent station having a Data Network Telephony (DNT) interface having a port adapted to connect to a data network capable of transmitting DNT telephony calls, and each DNT interface having an IP address; (b) connecting a data network telephony (DNT) network to the DNT interface at the one or more agent stations; (c) connecting, remote from the first host location, a computerized bridge unit to the DNT network by a data network port and associated circuitry for receiving and placing Data Network Telephony (DNT) calls on the data network, the bridge unit having a trunk-line port and associated circuitry for receiving and placing Connection Oriented/Switched Telephony (COST) telephone calls on a COST network, conversion circuitry for converting data dynamically between DNT and COST telephone calls, and control routines adapted to receive a first call from one of the COST and DNT networks, to place a call associated with the received call on the network other than the network on which the call is received, and to dynamically convert data between the associated calls; (d) receiving a DNT call at the bridge unit placed by a caller at an agent station at the first host location; (e) associating the DNT call with a COST telephone number; (f) placing a POTS call to the COST telephone number; and (g) dynamically converting data at the bridge between the DNT call and the associated COST call, thereby effectively connecting the DNT caller with a person at a telephone connected to the COST network.
A major advantage of systems of the present invention is that expensive and complicated equipment at customer premises can be avoided, and the wider bandwidth advantages of DNT-type calls are accrued to more customers of telephone service providers.